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Trivia: Musical Terms

Subject : trivia
Instructions:
  • Answer 50 questions in 15 minutes.
  • If you are not ready to take this test, you can study here.
  • Match each statement with the correct term.
  • Don't refresh. All questions and answers are randomly picked and ordered every time you load a test.

This is a study tool. The 3 wrong answers for each question are randomly chosen from answers to other questions. So, you might find at times the answers obvious, but you will see it re-enforces your understanding as you take the test each time.
1. A portion of the range of the instrument or voice.






2. A canon where the melody is sung in two or more voices. After the first voice begins - the next voice starts singing after a couple of measures are played in the preceding voice. All parts repeat continuously.






3. The opening section of a piece of music or movement.






4. Quick repetition of the same note or the rapid alternation between two notes.






5. Male singers who were castrated to preserve their alto and soprano vocal range.






6. A symbol indicating to play loud.






7. A symbol in sheet music that returns a note to its original pitch after it has been augmented or diminished.






8. Sliding between two notes.






9. Two or more voices or instruments playing the same note simultaneously.






10. The structure of a piece of music.






11. The first violin in an orchestra.






12. The principal note of a triad.






13. To repeat a previous part of a composition generally after other music has been played.






14. Tones used to embellish the principal melodic tone.






15. The period of music history which dates from the mid 1800's and lasted about sixty years. There was a strong regard for order and balance.






16. The study of forms - history - science - and methods of music.






17. The seventh note of the scale where there is a strong desire to resolve on the tonic.






18. The first tone of a scale also known as a keynote.






19. A separate section of a larger composition.






20. The flats and sharps at the beginning of each staff line indicating the key of music the piece is to be played.






21. Written for 2 to 10 solo parts featuring one instrument to a part. Each part bears the same importance.






22. A group singing in unison.






23. A musical form where the melody or tune is imitated by individual parts at regular intervals. The individual parts may enter at different measures and pitches. The tune may also be played at different speeds - backwards - or inverted.






24. Time signature with three beats to the measure.






25. A piece of music written in triple time. Also an old French dance.






26. The major and minor keys that share the same notes in that key.For example: A minor shares the same note as C major.






27. Movement in music where the characteristics are crisp and direct.






28. Where the musical themes and melodies are developed - written in sonata form.






29. Singing in unison - texts in a free rhythm. Similar to the rhythm of speech.






30. Time in music history ranging from the middle of the 16th to the middle of the 17th centuries. Characterized by emotional - flowery music; written in strict form.






31. Arrangement of music for a combined number of instruments.






32. A tempo having slow movement; restful at ease.






33. The unit of measure where the beats on the lines of the staff are divided up into two - three - four beats to a measure.






34. Initially an improvised cadence by a soloist; later becoming an elaborate and written out passage in an aria or concerto - featuring the skills of an instrumentalist or vocalist.






35. Pleasing combination of two or three tones played together in the background while a melody is being played. Harmony also refers to the study of chord progressions.






36. The intonation - pitch - and modulation of a composition expressing the meaning - feeling - or attitude of the music.






37. Curved line connecting notes to be sung or played as a phrase.






38. A form of music written for marching in two-step time. Originally the march was used for military processions.






39. A composition written for a solo instrument. The soloist plays the melody while the orchestra plays the accompaniment.






40. Lowest female singing voice.






41. One of the two modes of the tonal system. The minor mode can be identified by the dark - melancholic mood.






42. A separate section of a larger composition.






43. The movement of chords in succession.






44. Lowest female singing voice.






45. A melodic or - sometimes a harmonic idea presented in a musical form.






46. Group of singers in a chorus.






47. Harsh - discordant - and lack of harmony. Also a chord that sounds incomplete until it resolves itself on a harmonious chord.






48. To hold a tone or rest held beyond the written value at the discretion of the performer.






49. Three note chords consisting of a root - third - and fifth.






50. A form of Italian opera beginning at the end of the 19th century. The setting is contemporary to the composer's own time - and the characters are modeled after every day life.







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